After missing the 2012 and â??13 seasons, outfielder Grady Sizemore is competing for a spot on the Red Sox roster. / Steve Mitchell, USA TODAY Sports

by Scott Boeck, USA TODAY Sports

by Scott Boeck, USA TODAY Sports

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It's surprising enough Grady Sizemore is in the Boston Red Sox camp after an almost three-year absence from the major leagues due to a rash of injuries that threatened to end his promising career.

It's all the more surprising Sizemore looks like a sure bet to make the defending World Series champions' roster.

But perhaps most intriguing is this isn't merely a 31-year-old player coming back to be a bit part.

There's a growing sense among some Red Sox that they might have something special.

"Oh, he's going to be good," says right fielder Shane Victorino, who has played alongside Sizemore all spring and can't suppress a grin when talking about him.

"I only know Grady one way, and that was a guy who was one of the best center fielders in the game. I look at him that way and what he's doing now, he hasn't skipped a beat."

Sizemore, 31, has played in 104 games since 2010 because of assorted injuries that curtailed the end of his time with the Cleveland Indians. He has had seven surgeries, including microfracture surgery on his right knee, and missed the 2012 and '13 seasons while rehabbing.

He's making a strong case to make the Red Sox's 25-man roster, batting .310 this spring in nine games and showing flashes of his prime.

In 2008, he hit 33 home runs and stole 38 bases, finished 10th in American League MVP voting and made the last of his three consecutive All-Star Game appearances.

He has not played in more than 106 games in a season since.

Given Sizemore's time away from the game, he might take a bit longer to work into regular-season condition, and his injury history means his health status will be scrutinized.

So far, however, it has been almost all systems go.

"I didn't have any expectations coming in to camp," Sizemore told USA TODAY Sports. "I just wanted to get out here and see how I felt. Try to get healthy and also get back into shape.

"That's how I've been approaching every day, and that's all I've been trying to do, try to get back into baseball shape and get comfortable playing baseball."

At times, he has played it spectacularly. In a Grapefruit League game March17 against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sizemore made two highlight-reel catches, including one up against the wall, seemingly without regard to his body that has been so beaten up.

"You're talking about a competitor," teammate Jonny Gomes said. "You're talking about a dude who will run into a wall. You're talking about a dude who drove the bus for a while."

Even after all the surgeries and time spent on the disabled list, Sizemore won't make adjustments to his style.

"That's the only way I know how to play," he said. "My injuries really weren't related to playing hard. It was just more my body breaking down."

Health and durability are significant factors in whether Sizemore will break camp with the club, and in what role. He's competing with Jackie Bradley Jr. for the starting job.

Manager John Farrell announced last week that Sizemore's workload will be increased to better determine how his body will react to the day-to-day grind.

"We've seen every other phase of his game be natural and second nature to him," Farrell says. "We'd like to have a crystal ball, but when we signed Grady, we knew there were going to be a number of questions. He's answering some of those."